Bottom Line:
Results confirm that the Palau postcranial sample is indisputably small-bodied.Small body size in early Palauans is an ancestral characteristic and was likely not a consequence of in-situ size reduction.Specimens from Palau have little bearing upon hypothesised insular size reduction in the ancestral lineage of Homo floresiensis.

Conclusions/significance: A single, homogenous body size morph is represented in early prehistoric postcrania from Palau. Small body size in early Palauans is an ancestral characteristic and was likely not a consequence of in-situ size reduction. Specimens from Palau have little bearing upon hypothesised insular size reduction in the ancestral lineage of Homo floresiensis.

Mentions:
The CV* for the distal humerii approaches the significance criterion of African Pygmy and SE Asian Negrito CV*s but remains insignificant (Table 4 [Figures S1 & S2]). The Grand Mean of the Palau series (n = 16) is significantly greater than approximates derived from African Pygmies but not Southeast Asian Negritos (Table 4; Figures 3 and S3). Bootstrapped standard deviations (SD's) confirm that the variation within the Palau postcranial series is not significant and is generally consistent with that observed in small-bodied human references (Table 4). Statistical comparisons of the associated femur and tibia from Chelechol ra Orrak [7] confirms that these derive from a small-bodied individual [Figures S4 and S5]. Pairwise randomization and bootstrapped t-tests reject the hypothesis that the Chelechol ra Orrak specimens exceed the size range of small-bodied humans. The observed homogeneity of prehistoric humans from Palau confirms the hypothesis that a single size morph is represented at c3000 BP. Early prehistoric Palauans were indisputably ‘small-bodied’.

Mentions:
The CV* for the distal humerii approaches the significance criterion of African Pygmy and SE Asian Negrito CV*s but remains insignificant (Table 4 [Figures S1 & S2]). The Grand Mean of the Palau series (n = 16) is significantly greater than approximates derived from African Pygmies but not Southeast Asian Negritos (Table 4; Figures 3 and S3). Bootstrapped standard deviations (SD's) confirm that the variation within the Palau postcranial series is not significant and is generally consistent with that observed in small-bodied human references (Table 4). Statistical comparisons of the associated femur and tibia from Chelechol ra Orrak [7] confirms that these derive from a small-bodied individual [Figures S4 and S5]. Pairwise randomization and bootstrapped t-tests reject the hypothesis that the Chelechol ra Orrak specimens exceed the size range of small-bodied humans. The observed homogeneity of prehistoric humans from Palau confirms the hypothesis that a single size morph is represented at c3000 BP. Early prehistoric Palauans were indisputably ‘small-bodied’.

Bottom Line:
Results confirm that the Palau postcranial sample is indisputably small-bodied.Small body size in early Palauans is an ancestral characteristic and was likely not a consequence of in-situ size reduction.Specimens from Palau have little bearing upon hypothesised insular size reduction in the ancestral lineage of Homo floresiensis.

Conclusions/significance: A single, homogenous body size morph is represented in early prehistoric postcrania from Palau. Small body size in early Palauans is an ancestral characteristic and was likely not a consequence of in-situ size reduction. Specimens from Palau have little bearing upon hypothesised insular size reduction in the ancestral lineage of Homo floresiensis.